TEFL Blog

Teaching English in Russia

Camilla during her volunteer teaching in Nepal

.Camilla tells us about her volunteer teaching followed by her job teaching English in Moscow.My name is Camilla Randell I finished the Samui TEFL course last December, and I’m so pleased that I did. One year later I am teaching in Moscow and I still say I wouldn’t have wanted to enter a classroom without the experience I got at Samui TEFL.

At first I was meant to travel to China to teach but there were visa problems for me as I didn’t have a degree. Through friends I had met a lady with an English language school in Nepal and decided to go there. ‘English for all’ gave me my first teaching experience and I will be forever grateful to Susan Dieth and her team, the students were wonderful. Susan works with charities giving chances to people who wouldn’t normally be able to afford to learn. I also worked with refugees from Somalia and Afghanistan as the school worked with the UN. An experience I will never forget.You won’t earn a lot of money in Nepal but you will get rich in so many other ways.I then went to a non-teaching job in Switzerland and back to my home in Tenerife. Here I had met a lady from Russia who opened a language school in Tenerife she gave me a job working at her summer camp with Spanish and Russian children. She asked if I had ever considered working in Russia, and to be honest I’d never thought about it, but then again why not? So here I am now in Moscow working for Windsor Language Academy, and what an experience it is!

Firstly, Moscow is an incredible city I have found it to be friendly and safe, and a fascinating place to be. From the minute I started the process to move here, the school has been supportive in every aspect. As soon as I arrived they got me a Russian SIM card for my phone. You also get an unlimited travel card for the bus and metro, which I have to say is fantastic.You do pay for your own flights and first 3-month visa and you pay rent for your apartment. You are generally found an apartment by the school, and if you like it you stay or find your own. They help you with all of this too, and I am in an apartment sharing with another teacher. Apartments here are basic but comfortable and the heating is amazing, Russians don’t like to be cold.The salary means you can afford your rent and enjoy a good standard of life here and still save money. If you decide to stay on, they get you a bank account.The school uses the lexical approach (Michael Lewis and Hugh Dellar) so very much in keeping with the way we were taught at Samui TEFL. There is a high standard of training and support here. The teachers are from England, Ireland, America, Canada and Australia and all friendly and supportive.I teach a variety of students, as this is an English language school. I teach a range of children from 6/7 to 10/11 they work with Super Safari for the young children, and Super Minds and Think for the older children. I also teach pre-intermediate adults, and for this we use Outcomes. We teach both groups and one-to-one. They also have in-company classes.This company has four schools in Moscow, and I work at one near to where I live, and once a week all teachers go to the main school for training. They also have a social gathering once a month.

For me this is an amazing place to be. I can as always, only speak of my own experience and so far mine is a very good one. I am making friends and learning so much from fantastic teachers. I like the students and I love the city. Russia is a wonderful place to be and I know I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my Samui TEFL course and all I learned there. I’m am still in touch with all my classmates. We are dotted around the globe now, so thank you Samui TEFL for everything.Cami